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We are all guilty of doing silly things now and then, and computer users are no exception. Inadvertently pressing the wrong key combination or unknowingly clicking OK in the wrong dialog box can change important settings that alter a computer’s behaviour or even crash the system.
New computer Users are often worried that one wrong click might break the computer forever. Fortunately, short of hammering the box, the consequences aren’t usually quite that bad. Still, users often do create problems for themselves and their network. Here's a short list of common mistakes you can share with your friends, family and co workers to help avoid preventable problems.
1. Plug the power lead with out a surge protector.
This one can actually physically destroy your computer, as well as the data on it. You might think your systems are in danger only during a storm, but anything that interrupts the electrical circuit and then starts the current back again can fry your components. Even turning on a hair dryer or an electric heater on the same circuit can cause a surge. If you have a power outage, you may experience a surge when the electricity comes back on.
You can protect your systems against damage from power surges by always using a surge protector, but it’s important to be aware that most cheap surge protectors will survive only a single surge (if that ). An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is better than a surge protector; it has a battery that keeps power flowing smoothly even when there’s an outage, to give you time to properly shut down.
2. Surf the Net without a firewall.
Many home users plug their computers right into their spiffy new broadband modems without realizing that they’re putting themselves at risk from viruses and attackers. Every Internet-connected computer should be protected by a firewall. It can be built in to the modem, a separate firewall appliance that sits between the modem/router and the computer or personal firewall software installed on the computer such as the WINDOWS built in, or a program like Zone Alarm.
Just having a firewall isn’t good enough. Don’t forget to turn it on.
3. Neglect to run or update antivirus and anti-spyware programs.
Antivirus programs can be a royal pain. They’re always blocking some application you want to use, you often have to disable them to install new software, and they have to be updated on a regular basis to do any good. But the simple fact is – If you connect to the internet without one, you WILL catch something nasty. You can’t afford to go without virus protection. Today’s nasties - viruses, Trojans, worms, key loggers etc. will wreak havoc on your system and will spread to the rest of the network.
Another growing threat is spyware, these are programs that install themselves on your computer and collect information from your system that is then sent back to the spyware program’s author or vendor. Not all antivirus programs address spyware so it’s important to run a dedicated spyware detection and removal program.
4. Install and uninstall lots of programs, especially betas
You like to be on the cutting edge, so you often install and try out new software. Beta programs are usually free and give you a chance to sample new features before most people. There are also many freeware and shareware programs made available on the Internet. I know you’d never do it, but some users even install pirated software.
The more programs you install, the more likely you are to run across ones that either include spyware or that are poorly written and cause your system to hang or crash. With pirated programs you take a double risk – many are poorly patched and some hide spyware deep with in.
Even if you install only final-release commercial software, too many installations and uninstallations can muck up the registry. Not all uninstall routines completely remove program remnants and at the least, this practice can cause your system to slow down over time.
You should install only the programs that you really need, stick with legitimate software, and try to research other users’ experiences with the software BEFORE you install it.
5. Keep disks full and fragmented
One of the results of installing and uninstalling lots of programs (or adding and deleting data of any kind) is that it fragments your disk. Disk fragmentation occurs because of the way information is stored on the disk: On a new, clean disk, when you save a file it’s stored in contiguous sections. If you delete a file that takes up, for example, five sections, and then save a new file that takes eight clusters, the first five sections worth of data will be saved in the empty space left by the deletion and the remaining three will be saved in the next empty spaces. That makes the file fragmented- divided. To access that file, the disk won’t find all the parts of the file together but must go to different locations on the disk to retrieve it all. That makes it slower to access. If the file is part of a program, the program will run more slowly. A badly fragmented disk will slow down to a crawl.
You can use the disk defragmenter built into Windows to rearrange these pieces of files so that they’re placed contiguously on the disk.
Another common cause of performance problems and application misbehaviour is a disk that’s too full. Many programs create temporary files and need extra free space on the disk to operate. You can use Windows XP’s Disk Cleanup Tool to find and delete rarely used files, or you can manually delete files to clear space on your disk.
6. Open all attachments
Getting an e-mail message with an attachment is like getting an unexpected gift. You just have to look inside to see what it is. But unlike most packages left on your doorstep, many if not most could contain a virus, worm, Trojan etc.
The most dangerous attachments are executable files (ends with .exe. cmd, ) Files, such as Word .doc files and Excel .xls files, can contain embedded Scripts (Visual Basic, JavaScript, Flash, etc.) and are not directly executed by the computer but are run by other programs.
It used to be that you could assume plain text (.txt) or graphics (.gif, .jpg, .bmp) files were safe, but not anymore. File extensions can be “faked”; attackers take advantage of the Windows default setting that doesn’t display common file extensions to name executables something like FILe.gif.exe. With the real extension hidden, it shows up as FILE.gif. So the recipient thinks it’s a graphic, but it’s actually a malicious program.
You should open attachments only when they’re from trusted sources and only when you’re expecting them. Even if the mail with the attachment appears to come from someone you trust, it’s possible that someone spoofed their address or that their computer is infected with a virus that sent the attachment to you without their knowledge.
7. Click on everything
Opening attachments isn’t the only type of mouse click that can get you in trouble. Clicking on hyperlinks in e-mail messages or on Web pages can take you to Web sites that have embedded ActiveX controls or scripts that can perform all sorts of malicious activities, from wiping your hard disk to installing a backdoor program on your computer that a hacker can use to get in and take control of it.
Clicking the wrong link can also take you to inappropriate Web sites that feature pornography, pirated music or software, or other content that can get you in trouble if you’re using a computer on the job or even get you in trouble with the law. Think before you click a link. Links can also be disguised in “phishing” messages or on Web sites to appear to take you to a different site from the ones they really point to. For example, the link might say www.first-trust.co.uk, but it actually takes you to a site designed to appear like the original and attempt to get you to type in your credit card or bank account details. You can often find out the real URL by hovering over the link without clicking it.
8. Share and share alike
Sharing is caring, but when you’re on a network, sharing can expose you to dangers. If you have file and printer sharing enabled, others can remotely connect to your computer and access your data. Even if you haven’t created any shared folders, by default Windows systems have hidden “administrative” shares. A savvy hacker may be able to use these shares to get in. One way to prevent that is to turn off file and printer sharing if you don’t need to make any of the files on your computer accessible across the network. This is especially a good idea if you’re connecting your laptop to a public wireless hotspot
If you do need to make shared folders accessible, it’s important that they be protected by both share-level permissions and file-level (NTFS) permissions. Also ensure that your account and the local administrative account have strong passwords.
9. Pick the wrong passwords
Another common mistake that can expose you to attacks is picking the wrong password or leaving the password blank. Even if you are not forced to select strong passwords and change them regularly, you should do so. Don’t pick passwords that are easy to guess, such as your birth date, loved one’s name, national insurance number, etc. Longer passwords are harder to crack, so make your password at least eight characters long - 14 is even better. Popular password-cracking methods use "dictionary" attacks so don’t use words that are in the dictionary. Passwords should contain a combination of alpha, numeric, and symbol characters for best security.
A long string of nonsense characters may create a password that’s tough to crack, but if you can’t remember it (you’ll defeat the purpose by writing it down where an intruder may be able to find it). Instead, create a phrase you can remember easily and use the first letters of each word, along with logical numbers and symbols. For example: “My dog ate a bone on the 15th day of December” becomes “Mdaabot15doD.”
10. Ignore the need for a backup and recovery plan
Even if you follow all these suggestions, an attacker may crash your system or your data may be corrupted or lost due to a hardware problem. That’s why it’s essential that you always back up your important information and have a plan for recovering from a system failure.
Most computer users know they should back up, but many never do it. Or they make an initial backup but don’t update it regularly. Use the built-in Windows backup program (Ntbackup.exe in Windows 2000, and XP) or a third-party backup program and schedule backups to occur automatically. Store backed up data on a network server or removable drive in a location away from the computer itself, in case of theft, flood or fire (or nuclear explosion? Your office finance might seem slightly less important then…)
Remember that the data is the most important thing on your computer. The operating system can be reinstalled and so can applications, but it may be difficult, expensive or impossible to recreate your original data. Nonetheless, you can save time and frustration by backing up your system information too. You can create mirror images of your disks using popular “ghost” or “clone” programs. This will allow you to restore the system quickly instead of going through the tedious installation process.
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